Hetalia-Brave Crossover
by lydiak10
Summary: You've seen one scene from "Brave" in Hetalia style, now this is the whole story. I play a character in this story and I might've added one of my favorite characters from "Veggietales", too. Rated T for a bit of swearing.
1. Chapter 1: The Announcement

**Brave (Hetalia Style!)**

 **Roles**

America - Merida

England - Elinor

The Axis Powers - The Lords

France - Fergus

Me - The Witch

Archibald Asparagus - Crow

* * *

Chapter 1: The Announcement

America was standing in front of the conference room with Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg speech in his hands. England was standing in the back of the room, watching him. This was supposed to be an exercise in giving a speech.

"'Four score and seven years ago'-"

"Project!" said England.

America spoke louder. "'Four score and seven years ago'-"

"Enunciate!" said England. "You must be understood from anywhere in the room or it's all for nothing."

"This is all for nothing," America muttered.

"I heard that!" said England. "Start over!"

* * *

A couple hours later, England was informing America about the responsibilities of being a country while America was supposed to be taking notes.

"A country must be knowledgeable about his people and his economics."

England then noticed that America was not paying attention to him. He took America's notepad, which got America's attention, and took a look at the childish and exaggerated drawing of him. He frowned.

"And he doesn't doodle!"

* * *

It was little moments like these that America and England questioned their alliance with each other. America was irritated by England bossing him around and England was vexed by America's behavior. America was often brash and careless and valued his independence as a country while England took work seriously and was more mature; these two countries were very different. And there was never really enough time to listen to each other.

* * *

One day, the end of the meeting of the Allies was growing near. Sitting at the round table were the countries America, England, France, Russia, China, and Canada (whom the others didn't notice was there). America was chowing down a bunch of hamburgers and talking excitedly about his "genetically modified superhero for the Earth" idea with the others. England was looking through the letters the members of the Axis Powers had sent while rolling his eyes and criticizing America's ridiculous idea.

"And you'll give yourself a heart attack eating all that rubbish!" he added, indicating towards America's hamburger pile. America ignored him.

France was sitting next to England, lazily twirling his long, blonde hair around his finger. China was trying to avoid eye contact with Russia's creepy gaze. Canada was just sitting quietly, holding his pet bear, Kumajirou, who occasionally asked for the identity of his owner.

Suddenly, England spoke up. "Gentlemen, all of the members of the Axis Powers have accepted."

"Accepted what?" asked America, his mouth full of hamburger.

"The proposal for the merger agreement," said England.

Shocked, America swallowed the remains of his burger. "Merger agreement? What merger agreement?"

"The one we discussed last month," France reminded him.

"Right," said America. "Can you remind me of what we discussed again?"

England rolled his eyes before calling America an idiot under his breath. "The Axis Powers are coming here to present their plans for a merger agreement. One member will be chosen to exchange trade and resources with you, America. The plan is to make friends with the Axis, thus making the G8 stronger."

"Why me?" asked America.

"Because you're the country with all the resources and technology and stuff," Russia replied. "Because you're one of the most powerful and popular countries out of all of us."

"I didn't agree to this merger thing!" said America.

"We all heard you agree to this!" England snapped.

"I was agreeing to all those things about me!" America explained.

"So you weren't paying attention at all?!" said China. "Maybe choosing you was a mistake!"

"Well, you can choose someone else, 'cause I'm not gonna do it," said America.

"America-"

"I'm not just gonna give away my resources to an enemy!" said America. "They could use it against me!" And also, why should I agree to a merger with the Axis, of all countries?! I won't go through with it!" He stood up from the table and stormed out of the room.

"America!" England looked back at other countries. "I'll go talk to him." He got up from the table and walked out the room to find America.

* * *

 **Note: I'm sorry if the "merger agreement" idea seems a bit odd. I just wanted some kind of conflict similar to Merida's betrothal to get the story running.**


	2. Chapter 2: Talking To Each Other

Chapter 2: Talking To Each Other

England walked into the break room to find America furiously pacing back and forth. America stopped to face England, anger and shock written on his face.

"England! The Axis?! Merger agreement?!"

"Let me tell you something," England said calmly. He proceed to tell America a story that Scotland once told him. "Once, there was an ancient kingdom in Scotland-"

America groaned dramatically. "Ugh, England. Stupid ancient kingdoms…."

"Its name long forgotten," England continued, taking a white king chess piece from the chessboard on the table. "Ruled by a wise and fair king who was much beloved." He took four pawns, three white and one black, set them on the table, and placed the chessboard on top, balancing it on the pieces.

"When he grew old, he divided the kingdom among his four sons, so that they should be the pillars on which the peace of the land rested. But the oldest prince wanted to rule the land for himself," England indicated to the black pawn. "He followed his own path and the kingdom fell into war and chaos and ruin." He pulled the black pawn out from the chessboard and it fell to the floor, pieces scattering everywhere.

"That's a nice story," America commented sarcastically.

"It's not just a story, America," said England. "Legends are lessons; they ring with truths."

"Dude-"

"I would advise you to make your peace with this," said England. "The Axis Powers are coming tomorrow."

"It's not fair!" snapped America.

England rolled his eyes. "You git, it's a merger agreement. It's not the end of the world." He walked out of the room and America angrily slammed the door behind him.

* * *

France walked into the conference room to see England stressfully packing the meeting papers into his suitcase. He could hear him muttering under his breath.

"You're muttering."

"I don't mutter, frog," England grumbled.

" _Oui_ , you mutter, _Angleterre_ ," said France. "when something's troubling you. I take it the talk didn't go too well?"

"Stubbornness," said England. "He's inherited that trait from me." He sighed, putting his head in his hands. "I don't know what to do."

"Speak to him," said France.

"I _do_ speak to him!" said England exasperated. "He just doesn't listen!"

"Come now," said France. "Pretend I'm America. Speak to me. What would you say?"

England hesitated. "I can't do this."

"Sure you can." When England gave him a hard look, France said, "There! Right there! That's the grumpy Englishman I know! All right, here we go." He took a deep breath, and in the best American accent he could mimic (that wasn't very good) he said, "I don't want to be involved in a merger! I wanna be a free country with all of my resources and technology and stuff! I don't need anyone's help; I'm the hero, dudes!"

England smirked at the almost accurate imitation, before regaining his composure. "America, all this work, all the time spent preparing you, raising you, giving you everything I never had….I ask you, what do you expect me to do?"

* * *

"Call off the meeting!"

America walked around the empty break room, pretending to talk to England. "Would that hurt anything? You represent part of the United Kingdom. You take control sometimes. You could just the Axis, 'America doesn't want to go through with this plan. In fact, he might not ever want to go through a plan like this. So, that's it! See you later! We'll expect your declarations of war in the morning.'"

* * *

"I understand how this must all seem unfair," said England. "But we are countries, this is what we do. We can't just avoid things that make us who we are."

* * *

"But it's my country. It's…" America sighed. "I just don't think this is right."

* * *

"I think you would see," said England. "If you would just-"

* * *

"I think I can make you understand," said America. "If you would just-"

* * *

"Listen."

* * *

"Listen!"

America looked around at the emptiness of his room. " _This isn't gonna happen,"_ he thought rebelliously. " _Not if I have any say in it."_


	3. Chapter 3: Creating A Rift

Chapter 3: Creating A Rift

The next morning, the members of the Axis Powers, Germany, Italy, and Japan, came to the World Conference building.

"All right. Now that the three of you are here," said England as the Axis sat at the table with the Allies. "Let's discuss your plans for the merger." America, who was clearly in a bad mood, just glared at the Axis and at England.

The Axis members presented their plans for the merger and each one was different. Germany's plan was very organized with lots of rules, Japan's plan was a bit more at ease with the rules, but it was very complex. Italy's plan was pretty laidback if existent at all and was heavily involved with pasta. But America said that all those ideas were stupid. Not only that, but he insulted the Axis, for Germany's history, Japan's isolation, and Italy's cowardice. He boldly called a recess to any international deals with his country. He looked around and saw all the countries staring at him with shock and confusion. The face that stood out the most was England's face that was looking at him with intense anger.

* * *

England dragged America into a different conference room as they were shouting at each other.

"I've just about had enough of you!"

"You're the one who wants me to-"

"You embarrassed them! You embarrassed me!"

"I was telling the truth!"

"You don't know what you've done!"

"I just don't care-"

"There'll be war and destruction if it's not set right!"

"Will you just listen?!"

"I'm the eldest out of us! _You_ listen to _me_!"

America kicked over a chair in anger. "God, this is so unfair!"

England scoffed. "Unfair?!"

"You're never there for me!" America grabbed a chimney poker from its holder. "This whole merger thing is what _you_ want! Do you ever bother to ask what _I_ want? No! You walk around, telling me what to do and what not to do, trying to make me like you! Well, I'm not gonna be like you!"

"You're acting like a child!" England snapped.

"And you're a beast!" America shouted, walking over to a tapestry with all of the Allies and pointing the poker at it. "That's what you are!"

England saw what America intended to do. "America!"

"I'll never be like you!" The poker was now poking into the fabric of the tapestry.

"No! Stop that!"

"I'D RATHER DIE THAN BE LIKE YOU!"

England gasped as America slashed through the tapestry, creating a tear between the pictures of them.

That was the last straw for England. He stormed towards America. "America, you're supposed to be a country, not a useless, immature IMBECILE!"

Suddenly, America was on the ground with a red mark on his right cheek. England looked down at his stinging fist, shocked and full of regret at what he had done. He looked at America, whose eyes full of disbelief, anger, and betrayal dug into his heart like a blade.

Without any hesitation, America got up and ran towards the door. England called out for him, but America was already out of the room.

* * *

 **Note: To give you a heads up, in this next chapter, I will make an appearance. I'm not a witch, but a fantasy lover can dream. Also, as you've noticed in the cast list, I added one of my favorite character from "Veggietales" into my story. (Please don't judge me.)**


	4. Chapter 4: The Witch

Chapter 4: The Witch

America had gone to the nearby woods for solitude. He sat with his back against a tree as all sorts of negative emotions ran through his head. He felt like no one understood him. He felt his alliance with England cracking more and more. He hadn't felt this horrible in a long time….not since the Revolutionary War.

He remembered standing in front of England as he fell to his knees, his tears blending with the pouring rain. Now it seemed like England was the one standing tall and America was the one on the ground. Being brought down like all the times his taxes were raised while England was standing above him and his people.

With all of these thoughts, America decided to take a walk to let off some steam. As he was walking deeper into the woods, he suddenly slipped and tumbled down a big hill. When he picked himself up, he found himself in a clearing in the woods. Just as he was about to turn around, a small, blue, vapor-like apparition appeared, floating in front of him. Immediately thinking it was ghost, America was terrified and dove behind a bush.

But then he heard a hushed, mystic whisper and peeked out from the top of the bush. The apparition was beckoning him to come towards it. Suddenly, America's curiosity overpowered his fear. The little eyes of the creature were drawing him in. He came out from behind the bush and walked towards the creature. It started drifting across the clearing and towards a path in the trees. America followed the apparition deeper into the woods.

Suddenly, the apparition disappeared and America could see a small shop up ahead. As he came closer, he looked up to see the big, red letters that read AMAZING ALBUMS. He was confused; why would the creature lead him here?

He opened the door and heard the clanging of a bell. The place was full of shelves of CDs, cassettes, records, headphones, earbuds, iPods, and MP3s. Next to him was a checkout counter. At the counter was a girl who looked like she was in her late teens. Her skin was tan, her short, curly hair was dark brown, and her brown eyes were framed by glasses.

She turned her head and saw America standing there. "Hello! Look around, see if there's anything you like. Everything is half off."

America looked at her with confusion. "Who are you?"

"Just a music lover trying to make a living," the girl replied. "What genre do you like to listen to? Pop? Rock? Alternative?"

But America wasn't interested in answering. He had turned his head towards the opposite direction….and his eyes grew wide at a wooden broom sweeping the floor by itself. "Your broom!"

The girl saw what America was talking about. She quickly snapped her fingers and the broom fell to floor motionless.

"It was sweeping by itself!" said America, freaking out.

"That's ridiculous," said the girl. She tried to get America's attention back to music. "Do you listen to Green Day? 'Cause I have their new album, "Revolution Radio", for only five dollars."

But America's attention was caught by something else. Lying on top of one of the shelves of CDs was a vegetable, an asparagus. America picked it up, noticing a red bowtie and a monocle on it.

"It's rude to stare, you know."

America screamed and dropped the asparagus when it opened its eyes and started talking in a high-class British accent. The girl ran over and picked up the vegetable like it was a baby bird. "You scared him!" she scolded America. She looked back at the asparagus. "You okay, Archibald?"

America looked at her like she was crazy. "Archibald?"

"He has a name," the girl retorted.

America was starting to put the pieces together. Isolated shop in the woods, self-sweeping broom, talking vegetable….

"You're a witch! That's why I was lead here! You can help me with this guy, England-"

"I am NOT a witch! Too many unsatisfied customers!" the girl suddenly snapped. She took a deep breath and regained her composure. "If you're not gonna buy anything….get out!" She started pushing America towards the door.

"Wait, wait!" America tried to tell her. "Some freaky ghost thing sent me here!"

"I don't care!"

Just as they got to the door, America finally decided that the only way to get what he wanted was to give her what _she_ wanted.

"Okay, I'll buy it all!"

The girl stopped pushing him. "Say what?"

"Every album and gadget."

She was surprised for a moment, but crossed her arms and said, "And how are you gonna pay for that?"

America pulled out his wallet from his pocket and took out a couple hundred dollar bills. "I'll give you five hundred dollars. Will you settle for that?"

The girl and the asparagus gawked at him. "Five hundred dollars?"

The girl made a grab for the money, but America pulled it back.

"Every album and….one spell."

The girl narrowed her eyes at him cautiously. "You sure you know what you're doing?"

"I want a spell to change my ally, England. That would change my fate. So, what do you say, witch chick?"

The girl hesitated for a bit.

….

"Done!"

She took the money and put it in the register. Then she put on a blue cloak that was stashed behind the counter. She, America, and Archibald came out of the shop, closing the door.

"Can't do sorcery where I sell CDs," she said. She opened the door, revealing that the rows of CDs had been replaced with shelves of potions on the walls, multi-colored crystals hanging from the ceiling and a huge cauldron in the middle of the room.

"Lydia, didn't one of your ancestors do a similar spell like this?" said Archibald.

"Yeah, she did," Lydia replied. She proceeded to tell America. "It was for a prince in Scotland. He asked my 8 times great grandmother to give him the strength of ten men and he gave her this for a spell. A spell that would change his fate." She showed America an old ring with two axes crossed engraved in it.

"And did he get what he wanted?" America asked.

Lydia nodded. "Now, let's see. What do I need?"

She started pouring and sprinkling various ingredients into the cauldron and the liquid inside turned multiple colors and bubbled more and more. Finally, something floated up out of the thick, bubbling liquid. It looked like a small cake with a fig filling in the middle. Lydia scooped it out of the cauldron with a spoon and plopped it into America's hand.

America looked confused. "...A cake?"

"You don't want it?"

"Yes, I want it! So, if I give this to England," said America. "it will change my fate, right?"

"Trust me," said Lydia. "It'll do the trick."

America walked out of the shop with the cake wrapped up in a bag.

"Expect the delivery of your purchase in four days," Lydia told him. Suddenly, something came up in her mind for a second and then disappeared just as fast. She tried hard to remember it. "What was that thing about the spell?..."

"Did you say something?" America turned around, but the shop was gone along with Lydia, only leaving a clearing in the woods and a confused America in the center.

"Weird."


	5. Chapter 5: Transformation

Chapter 5: Transformation

America had gotten everything ready, the cake set on a plate and a cup of tea beside it, when suddenly, the door opened.

"America!"

America spun around to see England walking towards him, his face full of worry.

"Where the bloody hell have you been?! I've was worried sick!"

"You were?" America was surprised, considering how angry and hostile he was a couple hours ago.

"I didn't know where you went or if you were going to come back! I didn't know what to think!"

"Oh. I'm sorry I made you worried," said America.

"Well, the main thing is you're back," said England. "So that's the end of it."

America looked up at him hopefully. "Really?"

"I've pacified the Axis for now," England told him. "Of course, we both know a decision still has to be made."

America's smile fell a little bit. "I know." He held out the cake on the plate to England.

"What's this?"

"It's a peace offering," said America. "For you."

"For me?" England took the plate. "This isn't one of your processed, sugary, snack cakes, is it?" he asked skeptically.

"Nope, it's all natural," America assured him.

Knowing this, England thought it was good enough and took a bite out of the cake. "Hmm. Interesting flavor. Is this fig or tart?" He made a face. "Has a bit of an aftertaste though."

But America was expecting some change to happen any second now. "How do you feel? Any different at all? About the merger?"

After England had a sip of the tea, he said, "Now, let's meet up with the Axis and put this whole mess to rest." And he and America walked out of the room with America staring back at the cake.

But thirty seconds later, England suddenly groaned in pain and clutched his stomach.

"England! What's wrong, dude?" America asked.

"All of a sudden, I don't feel so good," said England.

"So," America said slowly. "how do you feel about the merger now?"

"America!"

"Sorry."

"Just take me home."

America allowed England to put his arm around his shoulders and he helped England walk towards the door. On their way out, the members of the Axis stopped them.

" _Igirisu_ ," said Japan. "We've all been waiting patiently."

England, ill and sluggish, turned to the three countries and said, "Gentleman, I am out of sorts at the moment,….but you shall have your answer…." He suddenly let out a loud belch, surprising the Axis who wouldn't expect this from a mature, well-mannered gentleman. "...presently. Now if you'll….excuse us."

He and America then walked out of the doors and made their way to England's car. France just happened to see them walking past.

"Hey, _Angleterre_ , are you alright?"

"I'm fine, frog." England replied. "Just go back to drinking wine and getting naked."

With that confirmation, France shrugged and walked away while America drove England to his house.

* * *

When they got there, America helped England walk to his room and get into bed.

"Just take all the time you need," said America. "And maybe later, you'll have something new to say about the merger…."

"What the hell was in that cake?" asked England, sluggish as ever. He groaned and rolled off the bed onto the floor.

"So," said America, turning to leave the room. "I'll just go back and tell them the deal's off then…."

But he paused when he heard the occasional groans become deeper and the floorboards creak. He cautiously walked over to the side of the bed.

"England?"

He saw the shape covered by the blanket on the floor. The shape got up, growing taller than England. When the blanket fell away, America screamed. It was standing in front of him on hind legs, with a tail, sharp claws, sharp teeth, golden fur, and a wild mane.

"LION!"

To America's surprise, the lion looked shocked. It turned and saw the shadow of a lion and jumped back with a frightened roar. But it became more frightened when it glanced at its paws and felt its face. It glanced at the mirror on the wall at its reflection, and that's when it freaked out, roaring and bumping into objects in the room.

The lion looked up at America with emerald green eyes. This wasn't some random lion; lions don't have green eyes.

"England? You're a lion!"

The lion looked at him with a face that said, "How the bloody hell did this happen?!"

"Why a lion?!" America suddenly got angry. "That stupid witch gave me some crappy spell!" As soon as he said that, the lion looked up at him with suspicion and anger. "Don't look at me like that! It's not my fault!" said America defenselessly. "I didn't ask her to change you into a lion! I just wanted her to change….you."

And then, with the means to throw every kind of profanity at America, the lion let out a big, long, loud, angry roar.

* * *

Soon, America was sitting on the bed while England the lion angrily paced back and forth in front of him on his hind legs, growling as if he was trying to speak, like a parent scolding their child after they had done something bad.

"There's no point having a go at me," said America bitterly. "It's the witch's fault. Crazy girl, talking British vegetable…."

America wondered how he was going to fix this while England picked up his torn suit with his paws and wondered what he was going to use to cover himself. He had managed to rip off one of the curtains and cover himself with that. He walked out of the room and started to head towards the front door.

America went after him. "No, England! Don't go out there! People will see you! England!"

America grabbed the curtain in an attempt to stop him and unintentionally pulled it off his body. The lion covered himself with his paws and looked at America with outrage and embarrassment.

"Dude, you're covered with fur!" said America. "You're not naked!"

When England realized this, of course, he felt rather silly.

* * *

England's house had a field of long grass behind it. America and England crept through the field, hiding from anyone who would see them. There was a secret path that they took to the woods that America went into.

* * *

 **Note: I know in this Hetalia/Brave crossover, I made England turn into a lion instead of a bear. I don't know why, but I was thinking lions are like a symbol of pride and England has a bit of pride to him. So I guess in this story, the spell can change you into a bear or a lion, depending on what other people see you as or what you act like?... I don't know.**


	6. Chapter 6: The Witch's Message

Chapter 6: The Witch's Message

America had brought England to the clearing in the woods and was now looking for the blue apparition. "Hello? Freaky ghost? Lead me to the witch's shop." England looked at him with confusion. When nothing happened, America muttered, "Fine, don't show up now that England's here."

But just as he said this, the blue apparition appeared, floating in front of him. England's eyes grew wide and he gave a small smile. He prodded America, and with his claw, he pointed to the apparition and wrote "WISP" in the dirt.

"C'mon, dude! Let's go after it!" said America.

And so, they followed the wisp through the woods until they came to the witch's shop. (England was surprised to see that America was telling the truth.)

America quickly opened the door, but there was hardly anything inside. No potions. No crystals. No talking asparagus. No Lydia. Just a cauldron in the middle of an empty room.

"What? But-But she was right here!" America tried to tell an unamused England. He opened the door wider and the bell above it clanged. And when it did, the cauldron came to life, bubbling and full of blue steam, even though there was no fire lit underneath. America and England approached the cauldron. As they came close, they noticed a couple of vials all in a row on a stand.

Suddenly, a picture of Lydia appeared in the steam. "Hello and welcome to Amazing Albums!" the picture said with a smile. "I am completely out of stock at the moment. But if you would like to request a sample of a song, pour in vial one. If you would like to see a list of artists, vial two. If you're that blonde guy with glasses, vial three-"

America quickly poured the contents of the third vial into the cauldron.

"Hello, sir!" said Lydia. "I've gone out of town to visit a couple relatives and I won't be back until Friday."

" _That'll be days before I can see her again!"_ America thought.

"There's something I need to tell you about the spell," Lydia continued, the tone of her voice growing serious. "...I never should have given you that spell."

America was surprised to hear this.

"I found out that this spell has a bad history with grave consequences."

The steam swirled around, and a picture of a great castle appeared with Lydia talking in the background.

"Remember the prince I told you about?" she said. "The one who wanted the strength of ten men? When he got the spell, he used it to defeat his younger brothers in a war so he could rule their kingdom for himself."

The picture in a steam changed to a stone with four brothers engraved in it. The stone was split between the three younger brothers and the one eldest. "Split," America thought. "like the tapestry in the conference room." Standing in front of the stone was a tall, muscular man with a full beard and head of hair. America looked closely at his hand and saw the ring he was wearing, a ring with two axes crossed carved into it.

In a split second, the prince's face changed into the face of a monstrous black bear, and America and England jumped back in horror.

"His actions brought the great kingdom to ruins," said Lydia. "And he became the bear Mordu."

The next picture showed the bear slaying many men and the castle crumbling in the background.

"Oldest prince….great kingdom….war, chaos, ruin….this is the story you told me!" said America to England. England nodded.

"Some time later," Lydia continued. "A princess named Merida asked for a spell to change her mother so she can avoid an arranged marriage."

This picture showed a girl with red, curly hair slashing a sword through a tapestry of her family, creating a tear between her and her mother.

"The difference between these two tales," said Lydia. "is that the prince was trapped in Mordu's scarred and tormented body, a bear forever until he died. But Merida was able to change her mother back to her human self with a spell breaker."

Lydia's face appeared in the steam again. "To break the spell, you must remember these words:

 _Fate be changed._

 _Look inside._

 _Mend the bond_

 _Torn by pride._ "

America was confused. "What kind of spell is that? 'Fate be changed'? 'Mend the bond'? What does that mean?"

Lydia didn't explain the meaning of the words; she just repeated them.

" _Fate be changed._

 _Look inside._

 _Mend the bond_

 _Torn by pride._

Oh, and one more thing," said Lydia. "Unless you mend the bond torn by pride, by the second sunrise, your spell will be permanent."

America and England were horrified by those words.

"So, that's it," said Lydia. "I wish the best of luck to you." She smiled. "Oh, and thank you for shopping at Amazing Albums!" And with that, the steam evaporated from the cauldron and Lydia was gone.

America and England were left in the darkness of the room. America saw the look on England's face that said, "I can't believe you did this to me." and regret flooded his heart.

* * *

It had began raining, so America decided it would be best to spend the night in Lydia's shop. It wouldn't have been safe to go to the World Conference building or America's house or England's house, because someone would've seen England's lion form. So the two of them laid down on the floor of the shop, neither one saying a word to each other. America let Lydia's words replay over and over again in his head, trying to find the meaning, trying to think of a way to get England back to normal.

He looked at the lion. "Hey. We'll figure this out tomorrow."

The lion lifted its head and nodded. His face wasn't showing anger or concern, but it was just blank. Then he laid his head back down and closed his eyes.

There was the sound of thunder in the distance. The thunder made America remember all the times when he got scared by these thunderstorms….

* * *

One night in England's big house, it was raining hard and thunder could be heard outside. England was sitting in his chair with a book while a little America was on the floor, playing with his little toy soldiers.

There was a crash of thunder and a flash of lightning that made America scream with fright and scurry into England's lap. England looked down at America's scared, tear-filled, blue eyes looking up at him and he smiled at him comfortingly.

"Don't be scared, America, I'm here. I'll always be right here."

He held America in his arms, talking and singing softly to him all throughout the storm.

* * *

 **Note: After reading this chapter, I guess you saw I didn't want America and England going to some ruined castle and having a battle with Mordu. So I just decided to add half of the movie "Brave" into Lydia's message.**


	7. Chapter 7: Time Together

Chapter 7: Time Together

America woke up to the sound of birds chirping. Sunlight shone a little bit through the window of the shop. America saw that England wasn't next to him, making him fear the worst for a brief moment, but when he opened the door, he gave a silent sigh of relief. England was sitting in front of the shop, fixing some things on a makeshift table made out of a large piece of bark. There were two boulders to represent chairs. On the table were two plates, a pitcher, and two cups made out of stone.

"Uh….good morning."

The lion made a growl that vaguely sounded like "Good morning".

"So," said America. "what's all this supposed to be?"

Another growl was omitted that supposed to say, "Breakfast".

America sat on one of the boulders, but when he did, England started to say something, but it all came out as incomprehensible growls.

"What?"

England tried to say his message more clearly, unaware that he just made each separated growl more clear as if they were words. He looked at America for some confirmation, his expression and uplifted ears making it both cute and comical.

"Sorry, dude," said America. "I don't speak lion."

The lion sighed and with his paw, he pointed to America, who had his elbows on the table. America had realized this and got his elbows off the table.

He noticed a bunch of berries on the plate. "Did you find these by the creek?"

England nodded, taking some berries.

"These are nightshade berries."

England heedlessly nodded again, putting the berries into his mouth.

"They're poisonous."

England immediately spat out the berries and quickly filled his cup with water from the pitcher and drank some.

America looked into the pitcher. "Where did you get this water? There's worms."

England did a major spit take and banged his paws on the table, which, because of his lion strength, resulted in the table being flung into the trees.

America chuckled at the lion's misfortune. "C'mon, dude, I've got a better idea."

* * *

Some time later, America was showing England a skill he learned from camping outdoors countless times: hunting small animals and cooking them. He had caught a couple of birds, made a fire, and had cooked them up. England was disgusted about eating them at first, but once he had them, he found out that they weren't that bad.

Then the two started goofing around, chasing squirrels and birds. America watched as England pounced and pursued the animals like a real lion. He smiled a little bit. They were actually having fun together. He was amazed at this, considering how strained their relationship was the past few days.

He noticed the lion walking away from him, so he ran to catch up. "Hey, dude, where are you going?"

His voice had made the lion turn around with a face that was not friendly. The eyes were yellow. It started to growl and walk slowly towards America like any other lion does on its prey.

America slowly backed away, a little scared and confused. "England? What are you doing?"

But five seconds later, the lion's eyes turned back to green, and he stopped and he looked at America with a face that said, "What happened?"

"England? Is that you?"

England nodded.

"You changed," said America. "It was like….you become a lion on the inside!"

It was the late afternoon of the first day of the spell. It wouldn't be long before the second sunrise.

"If we don't hurry," America told England. "you'll become a lion! A real lion! Forever!" He thought over Lydia's words. "'Mend the bond torn by pride'." A light bulb lit up in his brain. "England! The witch gave us the answer: the tapestry!"


	8. Chapter 8: The Speech

Chapter 8: The Speech

In the middle of the night, America and England snuck up to the World Conference building. They could hear shouting coming from inside. They looked in the window and saw the Axis and the Allies standing on either side of the conference room, yelling at each other. America knew that they were arguing about the merger. He knew now that what he did was a mistake.

"Oh, crap!" said America. "We've gotta stop this before someone declares war!"

England responded with the face and gestures that said, "I can't go in there! Look at me!"

"I know, I know," said America. "But we can't get to the tapestry with those guys fighting like that."

England pointed his paw to America. America knew what he meant: he was the one who had to settle this.

* * *

When America entered the conference room, the rest of the countries stopped yelling at each other and turned to face him.

"America, where have you been?" asked France.

"I've been talking with England," said America.

"And where is he?!" said Germany angrily. "Let him settle this!"

America dismissed this question. From the window across the room, he could see the lion; the top of his mane and his eyes were only visible in the window. As long as no one looked at the window, there was nothing to worry about; America had everybody's attention.

"Once, there was an ancient kingdom in Scotland," he began. "That kingdom fell into war and chaos and ruin."

"Is this another story _Angleterre_ heard from his brother and told you?" asked France skeptically.

"But it's true!" America told him. "I know now how a selfish act can turn the fate of everyone around you."

"It's just a legend," said Russia.

"Legends are lessons; they ring with truths," said America.

England was surprised to hear America quote the words he had said. Along with him, everyone else was surprised that America was talking so maturely and seriously.

"Our countries go back a long time. Our stories are part of history. Within these years, we struck many bonds with many countries. As for us, even though we're kinda enemies sometimes, when something disastrous happens, we come together to fix it.

"Remember when those Pictonian dudes came from Picto to make the world into a Picto planet? We teamed up and worked together to save the world! We fought for and risked everything for each other! Germany, you kicked some serious Picto ass defending us from those creeps!"

The anger ebbed away as Germany remembered that fateful night on that island.

"And Japan, you stopped the Pictonians from killing us by showing them your Bon Bon dancing and making them happy!"

Japan nodded humbly with a small smile.

"And who could forget that Italy here saved us all by drawing faces on all those Pictonians!"

Italy smiled as he remembered. "Yeah! I did!" Germany glanced at him with a smile, remembering what Italy did that night.

"That whole experience," said America. "made us tolerate each other more and made our bonds stronger. A bond that still exists today despite our differences."

England found himself smiling at America's inspiring words.

America frowned. "But I was selfish. I tore a rift between us. This is my fault. And I know that I need to fix my mistakes and mend our bond. And so there's the matter of the merger agreement. I've decided to do what's right and-"

America's eyes glanced at the window where England was waving his paws as a mean to stop him.

"And…."

England began gesturing to him.

"...and….leave the choice….to you."

The countries gasped in surprise. America continued to look at England as the lion made the gestures to continue the message.

"England….feels….in his heart….that I….that we should….search for our own….country….to trade….and to learn about….and depend less….on strength….and popularity….but on loyalty….and willingness….to help….in times of need. So basically," America said. "you guys should choose for yourselves who you'd want merge with, so long as they're okay with it."

"Well," said Germany. "Let me just say, that is-"

"A great idea!" Italy interrupted. "Why shouldn't we choose?"

Germany, shocked at Italy's instant agreement, looked at Japan. "And you feel the same way?"

Japan, who hated being put on the spot, quietly said, "It shouldn't be right to be forced into a merger agreement we do not want."

Germany sighed. Since the idea was won two out of three, it was necessary to agree, too. "All right then, we will choose for ourselves which country to exchange our cultures and businesses with. You handled this well, America."

America smiled, happy that the situation was now resolved. He glanced at the window to see England giving a proud smile.

"Hey, everybody!" said America. "Let's all go to the kitchen, make some food, and celebrate!"

All the other countries agreed and headed down to the kitchen. ("I can make the pasta!" said Italy happily.) As soon as they were gone, America opened the doors to let England in.

"Dude, that was awesome!" said America, giving the lion a high-five. "That's one problem taken care of. Now let's go fix the other one!"


	9. Chapter 9: The Chase

Chapter 9: The Chase

America looked at the tear in the tapestry. "'Mend the bond'...so basically, stitch it up! This'll change you back. We just need a needle and thread."

America found a needle and some thread, but when he faced the tapestry, he froze. He didn't know much about sewing. So with few gestures, England quickly taught him how to sew.

But as America was getting close to being done, he heard the sound of chairs being knocked down. America turned to see the lion knocking over the chairs. His eyes were yellow.

"No, not now!" America groaned.

Just then, the door opened and Italy poked his head in. "Hey, America, aren't you coming down to join us?" He immediately screamed with fright when he saw the lion. The lion roared and Italy bolted from the room with the lion in pursuit.

"GERMANY, HELP! IT'S A LION!"

"No, Italy! That's England!" America yelled after him, but it was too late.

* * *

All the other countries came running when they heard Italy's screams. When the lion came close, Germany threw a punch at its face. The impact knocked the lion back a few feet, and at this point, its eyes had turned back to green. England looked around at the shocked and frightened faces around him and realized what had just happened. It was time to get the hell out of there. Without any hesitation, he ran out the double doors and into the night.

"We can't let that animal go out into the streets and hurt somebody!" shouted Germany. He told the rest of the countries to grab their signature weapons, and they ran out of the building after the lion.

* * *

Panic shot through America's mind as he heard the sound of shouting and a gun being fired off. He looked out the window to England being chased by the other countries into the woods. If America didn't hurry, the others were going to hurt England, maybe even kill him.

America finished stitching up the tear in the tapestry as fast as he could. The second he was done, he grabbed the tapestry off the rod and ran out of the building. When he ran into the woods, he couldn't see the lion or the countries. He didn't know which way to go.

Suddenly, a wisp appeared, beckoning America to follow it. Grateful to be given a sign, America ran after the wisp into the woods.


	10. Chapter 10: Mend The Bond - Epilouge

Chapter 10: Mend The Bond

England ran through the woods, hearing the shouts of the countries behind him. He suddenly tumbled down the hill that led to the clearing. The fall had delayed his escape, and he was quickly pinned to the ground by ropes that a couple of the countries had thrown. As they held him down, Germany approached him. He held out his gun, ready to take a shot.

"STOP!"

All the countries turned their heads to see America behind him.

"Don't hurt him! That's England!"

"America! Have you lost your mind?!" exclaimed France.

"I swear I'm telling the truth!"

He then proceeded to tell everyone everything from the witch to the spell to the spellbreaker. Everyone listened with confusion and disbelief.

"Look at him," America told him. "Really look at him. I swear to you that's England."

France walked up to the lion and looked at its face. That's when he recognized a familiar trademark. "Eyes like emeralds," he said. "It _is_ England!"

The countries laid down their weapons and loosened the ropes on the lion.

America sighed with relief that no harm was done. But as he looked up, he gasped as he saw pink and orange colors of the morning sky and the sun's first rays peeking out from the horizon.

"The second sunrise!"

He quickly dragged the tapestry over to the lion and threw it over its shoulders. Then he kneeled down in front of him, expecting some sort of magical transformation to happen immediately.

Nothing.

The sun rose higher. Everyone stood frozen, waiting for a change.

But still nothing.

England looked at America with an expression of sadness and defeat. And as America looked into the lion's eyes, he saw emerald green change to yellow one final time.

"No….I don't understand….I…." But there was nothing to understand. He had failed. England wasn't there, just a lion who looked at him with an empty gaze. England was gone.

America felt a gaping hole in his chest and he couldn't control the tears welling up in his eyes. "England, I'm so sorry," he said, even though it may have seemed pointless to talk to England since this lion wasn't him. "This is all my fault. I did this to you, to us."

The lion gently sniffed his face as America put his arms around its shoulders. America kept crying as memories appeared in his mind. Memories of a man whom he met in a grassy field when he was little and whom he had chosen over France. Memories of a man who held him and sang to him, who comforted him every thunderstorm, who cooked for him, who gave him the toy soldiers. The man who became his big brother.

"You've always been there for me," he cried. "You never gave up on me. I just want you back, England. Please come back…."

The rest of the countries shed a few tears themselves, watching the heartbreaking scene in front of them as the sun rose the rest of the way into the sky. The only sounds were the birds chirping and America crying.

America had his eyes shut and his arms wrapped around England, never wanted to let go. But then, he felt a hand gently touching his back. Not a paw, but a human hand. He opened his eyes and looked up….

….to see England's face in front of him. His pale skin, messy, blonde hair, huge eyebrows, emerald green eyes glistening and a true smile.

America's heart almost burst with happiness. "England! You're back!" He pulled the older country into an enormous hug which England joyfully returned. When they broke away, America looked at him, amazed. "You've changed."

"We both have," England said softly.

All of the countries smiled, happy to see their fellow country back. France rushed out of the group and gave England a big hug, and despite the history of rivalry between them, England returned it.

America suddenly realized something. "Uh, dude?" He pointed to England's bare chest.

England quickly realized he was naked and wrapped the tapestry around him to cover himself. His face turned beet red when he saw everybody looking. "Oi! Show some respect for God's sake! I'm not decent!"

The countries snickered as they looked away; it looked like England was back to his old self.

* * *

Most of the countries stayed the same after that day. The Axis Powers went back to their own countries to settle their merger agreements. The biggest change was in America and England. America put more thought into the plans he made for his country instead of making up ludicrous ideas on the spot. On some occasions, he would sometimes ask for advice from the rest of the Allies. England had learned to guard his tongue more carefully and not lash out too often at the Allie's (mostly America's) actions. He gave them a chance to explain their ideas instead of immediately shooting them down and even agreed to help support their ideas, no matter how tsundere he felt about it. Overall, even though they were still countries and they still had their disputes and differences, some strains were at ease and some bonds were stronger than ever.

There can be three lessons to be learned from this story. One would be that you have to be careful with some of choices you make, because they can affect you and the people around you. Another lesson would be that sometimes it's more courageous to swallow your pride and mend the bonds that have been broken. The last lesson would be that fate isn't particularly beyond your command. It lives within you and the choices you make. You only have to be brave enough to see it.

* * *

Epilouge

One day, while America was away, Canada was hanging out at his brother's house when the doorbell rang. When he opened the door, he didn't see anyone there. In front of the house, he saw a car attached to a wagon with CDs, cassettes, records, and gadgets in a large pile.

"Hello?"

"Down here!" said a British accented voice.

Canada looked down, and his eyes grew wide at the sight of an asparagus wearing a red bowtie and a monocle standing on the doorstep. He was (somehow) holding a delivery form.

"Would you sign here, please?"

Canada just stood there, staring in awe at the talking vegetable.

"Come on now! We don't have all day!"

End


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